Kik Partners with Crisis Text Line

April 18, 2018News

WATERLOO, Ontario -- April 18, 2018 - Kik Interactive, creator of the popular chat platform Kik, today announced that it has extended its partnership with Crisis Text Line, the not-for-profit that provides free, 24/7 crisis support via text. Kik users who engage in conversations about emotional distress, self harm, or other mental health concerns can now connect with trained crisis counselors who help the individual develop a plan to stay safe via text and offer resources.

"Texting is the native mode of communication for today's teens and a key reason for the success of the Kik messaging app," said Catherine Teitelbaum, head of trust and safety, Kik. "Crisis Text Line is a perfect fit for Kik, because the service enables our users to communicate as they normally would with their friends and family and feel safe in their anonymity while discussing personal matters with trained crisis counselors."

Within Kik, Crisis Text Line helps social networks manage various crisis situations. A bot scans conversations for words related to abuse, bullying, depression, suicide, eating disorders, self harm, and more, to triage and redirect high risk users to the Crisis Text Line bot. In minutes, the user in distress is given the opportunity to connect with a trained human counselor via chat.

"Mental health is a huge issue that many digital services are afraid to address, which is absolutely the wrong approach," said Nancy Lublin, CEO, Crisis Text Line. "We applaud Kik for being a leader in this space by ensuring Kik is a fun and safe environment"

Kik recently reaffirmed its commitment to safety through a US$10 million investment to fund safety initiatives, including the addition of Crisis Text Line. Additionally, Kik continues fostering a positive mobile chat experience by leveraging the expertise of its recently formed Safety Advisory Board, a panel of experts with experience in child development, child exploitation and trafficking, criminology, cyberbullying, and privacy and security.

Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7, confidential support for people in crisis via text. www.crisistextline.org. Text 741741 to be connected to a live, trained crisis counselor.

About Kik

Kik Interactive, Inc., connects the world through chat. The company is the maker of Kik, a chat platform popular with U.S. teens where people can chat with friends and connect with chat-based services. Founded in 2009, Kik Interactive, Inc. is headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and has offices in New York, Tel Aviv, and Toronto. For more information, please visit kik.com.